Independence referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan

6 months agoJournals

Ameeting led by the former Kurdistan President,
Massoud Barzani, between fifteen different political parties was held on the
7th June 2017 to hold the referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan for independence.
The meeting ended with an agreement to hold an Iraqi Kurdistan-wide
independence referendum on the 25th September 2017. Both the Gorran Movement
(Gorran) and the Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) refused to take part in the
meeting and instead requested that the government’s main focus be on restoring
the political environment and restarting the Kurdistan parliament before any
discussions take place on the issue of a Kurdish referendum. Notwithstanding
internal, regional and international pressures, the Kurdistan Regional
Government pressed ahead and held its referendum on the 25th September 2017.
Therefore, the central question that remains regarding the issue of the
Kurdistan referendum is what motivating Kurdish politicians, in particular
those of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to hold the poll? This article
argues that the KDP has the public and private motivations in holding the
independence referendum.